Cuddling
by FredFanatic
Summary: Fred always considered cuddling to be a feminine activity. This changes when Fred experiences his very first instance of cuddling, followed by nightmares and an inability to sleep. George thinks he knows why. Fred/Katie one-shot


**Disclaimer:** All recognized characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

**--Cuddling--**

Cuddling has always struck me as being an extremely feminine thing. I've always considered it to be something only girls enjoy—and extremely girly-girls at that. It's not something a man would soberly suggest. And if a man were drunk, certainly cuddling would be the last thing on his mind—if you catch my drift.

In fact cuddling has always irritated me quite a lot. Any time I would walk into the Gryffindor common room and see some bloke cuddling with a girlfriend of his I would have to be careful not to vomit all over the couple. I mean, honestly, who in their right mind would allow that kind of physical contact to be put on display? Certainly only someone who was clearly whipped by their girlfriend.

That's why it surprised me so much when I found that I actually _enjoy_ cuddling. Shocking, I know. I, Fred Weasley, ladies-man extraordinaire actually _like_ to cuddle. The prospect is so bizarre that I wasn't even able to accept it at first…but over time I've come to accept the fact: I am a cuddling-addict.

And I think it has to do with one person in particular: Katie Bell.

Just as I said before, cuddling is a feminine thing. Being such, I am well aware that all girls love cuddling. However, I hadn't taken into account the fact that my best mate, Miss Kathryn Bell, would also be a lover of such a ridiculous activity. She was too much like me and George, a prankster, a rebel, a jokester, to be a lover of cuddling.

So it surprised me almost as much when I found out that Katie too is a cuddle-addict.

It happened over a month ago after Quidditch practice one day.

Wood had us out in the cold wind and rain for hours practicing one ridiculous play after another. I could feel my bones aching from the activity and my head was throbbing from the cold. My toes were frozen and my lips were turning blue.

It wasn't until I took matters into my own hands and hit a bludger directly at Wood's back that we were able to end practice. Of course, George and I were the ones who were left to carry Wood's unconscious body back to the dressing room and then up to the castle, but it was well worth it.

That night, long after the rest of the team had hauled themselves up from the common room and into bed—and well after Oliver had taken out his anger and frustration in the form of screaming at me—Katie and I were the only two left in the room.

The fire was crackling splendidly, helping to ease the numbness I felt in my entire body, but it was taking forever for my limbs to thaw out. I was worried I would catch some kind of cold…hypothermia or whatever it is they call it…. And that's when it all began.

"Fred?" Katie had said from her seat across from me.

"What is it Kates?" I asked, resisting the urge to conjure up a blanket. I would feel rather stupid cuddling under a blanket…even if it was only in front of Katie. I wasn't wuss enough to have to stoop to such levels.

"Are you alright? You look like you might die over there," she said.

Katie was more smartly covered in a thick comforter she had brought down from her bed. She looked much healthier than I felt—the colour was beginning to return to her face, rosying her cheeks quite nicely.

I tried my best to shrug, but my shoulders ached from the cold. "I'm fine."

"Well you don't look fine," Katie said, and she stood up from her seat, making her way over to me.

"Here," she said, and before I could even respond or object, she was sitting down next to me.

She pulled her blanket over both of our bodies and eased her arms around me. I felt her pull her legs up as well, so both of us were snuggled in a ball under the comforter.

Even as my brain screamed at me that this was wrong, I didn't object. I couldn't bring myself to. It felt almost…nice.

That night the two of us fell asleep right there in the common room. We stayed all night long, and woke when the sun was rising over the hills outside—our arms still wrapped around each other.

Of course as soon as I realized we had stayed there all night I panicked. I stood up quickly and ran up to my dormitory to change, wanting to get out of there before anyone could come down and see us together. Even worse, I didn't want Katie to say anything to make things awkward. She was a friend—I didn't want things to get weird between us. As far as I knew friends didn't cuddle.

To my intense relief, things didn't get weird between Katie and me. We talked like normal, and no one suspected what I had done. We were just friends, and neither of us mentioned the incident…although I had an unsettling feeling that Katie wasn't as bothered by it as I was. But that couldn't be possible. It must have been eating her up inside. I mean, we cuddled. That has to be against some sort of rule…right?

Oddly enough, although no one had caught us, and neither of us brought up the incident again, things didn't get better for me. Every night I was up tossing and turning, unable to rest. My dreamless sleeps were suddenly infested by nightmares, and I remained awake for hours after George and Lee had already begun to snore.

It was unsettling and scary, but I could only think of one culprit: the cuddling incident. It had freaked me out so much that I could no longer get to sleep at night. It had terrified me right to my very core, and I didn't know how to fix it. Something had to be done.

For nearly two weeks I waited it out, hoping some change in my sleeping pattern would take place. I figured the terror would wear off after a few days, as long as it never happened again.

It didn't work. I never cuddled with anyone again, and yet the nightmares continued.

It was then that I decided I needed some advice.

"George?" I asked, entering the dormitory where I knew he was.

"Yeah," he answered. He was rummaging around in his trunk for something.

"I need to ask you something," I said, scratching the back of my neck.

I was embarrassed that I was going to talk about this to someone, but I knew George was the most trustworthy person I could go to. George and I weren't only brothers, weren't only twins, we were best friends. We could talk to each other about anything—not that we ever really needed to. There were a lot of unspoken bonds between us. Not a lot of talking was necessary.

"What is it?" George asked. He didn't turn around to face me. He didn't seem interested in me at all, but I continued anyway.

"I've been having nightmares," I said, feeling braver now that I had begun.

"What about?"

"Nothing in particular, just nightmares," I replied, "And I can't sleep at night."

"Right…" he was still rummaging.

"And I need to know what I should do about it."

George paused. "Well what's causing them?"

I sat down on his bed, watching him tear apart his trunk…only to realize it was Lee's trunk he was going through. I pondered briefly what he was planning, but continued on without asking.

"I think it has something to do with a certain event that took place a couple of weeks ago…" I said slowly.

"What event?"

"Well, one night after practice—that night that I knocked Wood out—I was sitting in the common room and Katie…well she sat down and _cuddled_ with me," I cringed at the memory.

"Hmm," George said, strangely unfazed by my revelation. "How was it?"

"What do you mean how was it? I _cuddled_ with her…it was disgusting!"

"Disgusting?" George asked, turning to face me now. "Really?"

He sounded disbelieving, as if he thought I was lying to him…stupid twin psychic abilities.

"Well maybe not disgusting, but it was wrong," I said.

"Well apparently it wasn't," George said, "If you haven't been able to sleep since."

"Exactly, I haven't been able to sleep since, because I'm so horrified by it."

"I don't think that's it," George replied, turning back to Lee's trunk.

"You don't?" I asked. I was kind of relieved. If the nightmares weren't because of the cuddling incident than maybe there was a way to solve it.

"No. You can't sleep because you cuddled with Katie…but only because you liked it," George replied.

My eyes bulged in horror. "Well what am I supposed to do?"

George shrugged, "Do it again."

I stared at my brother in disbelief, appalled by what he had just suggested.

"You want me to do that _again_?"

"I don't want you to do anything, mate. It's not bothering me that you can't sleep at night. I'm just telling you what I would do."

I glared at his back and got up from my seat. George was insane. There was no way I was doing that again.

Unfortunately as the days passed, I grew more and more weary. My grades were slipping even further than normal, and my pranks were suffering severely. I knew George was right. I had to take action.

Finding someone to cuddle with wasn't difficult. Girls liked me well enough, so it was easy to find someone willing enough to be around me.

I chose a Gryffindor—you know, for easy access—as my subject. I can't really remember her name…Veronica-something-or-other. It's not really important. I just wanted to be able to sleep well at night again.

So I was all set, driven by my excitement to have a good night's sleep again. What's-her-name was sitting in the common room and I was putting on the charm. She was easy enough to persuade, and before long I was sliding next to her on the sofa.

The only problem was, after only half-a-second of letting her snuggle up to me I jumped up in horror.

"I'm sorry, I have to…go to the bathroom," I had said hurriedly, practically sprinting out of the room. I hadn't even cared what that would have sounded like, or what she would have told her friends…_'Fred Weasley ran out on me because he had the runs'_…whatever, it didn't matter.

The event was terrifying, and I couldn't figure out what went wrong. With Katie it hadn't been so bad. It had felt pleasant to have her snuggling up to me like that…surely it was just the girl. Maybe she didn't have any experience in cuddling. I just had to find someone who knew what she was doing.

Alas, six days and four girls later, and I was still having nightmares. No amount of cuddling was helping my sleep deprivation at all.

George, again, was the one who shed light on the situation.

"Don't you get it Fred? It's not the cuddling, it's _Katie_," he had said.

Again, I shook my head in horrified disbelief. George really had lost it this time. Katie Bell was the reason I couldn't sleep at night? How could that be possible? There wasn't anything special about Katie. Sure she was nice, friendly, good-looking, smart…but we were friends, nothing else. Surely George was going mad…

But then again…I really did need my sleep, and I was willing to try anything.

--

By the next day my mind was fully devoted to finding away to seduce Katie into cuddling with me. I couldn't stand not being able to sleep at night, and although I didn't firmly believe in George's theory, I tried to trust my brother's judgement. Sometimes he was right about these kind of things.

My first attempt at capturing Katie in a cuddle-fest was after a particularly rainy Quidditch practice one day. I figured she had done it the first time, why wouldn't she do it again?

It wasn't difficult recreating the night of the original cuddle incident. It was rainy, Wood worked us too hard (as usual) and I was freezing by the time I made it back to the common room—I had even thrown in a bludger hit to the gut for Oliver for good measure. I didn't want to leave any details out…but I didn't want to injure him enough that I had to carry him back up to the castle.

Katie was cuddling underneath a blanket when I trudged back down from my dormitory to take my seat by the fire. In a minute of bold thinking I took a seat down next to her instead of in my usual place across the room.

Katie was pouring over some novel when I took a seat next to her, and she didn't even seem to notice my arrival.

"Hey Kates," I said, trying to catch her attention.

"Hey Fred," she replied, not removing her gaze from her book. I wondered vaguely how she knew it was me and not George. She hadn't even looked in my direction.

"How are you feeling?" I asked carefully. I wanted to make sure this played out the way I planned.

She shrugged, her eyes still not straying from the page. "Practice was pretty brutal tonight, but I'm all right."

I nodded, watching her eyes scan the pages in front of her. I waited for her to ask how I was feeling, but she didn't. I frowned. Maybe this was going to be harder than I thought.

As Katie continued to ignore my presence I decided on another route to getting what I wanted. Concentrating very hard I focussed on making myself appear cold. It wasn't too difficult, I already was cold, but I tried to will my lips to look bluer and my limbs to shake harder.

It must have worked because Katie shut her book and turned to me suddenly.

"You cold?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

I shrugged. "Kind of."

"Mmm," she replied, rubbing her eyes fiercely. "Well you can have my blanket; I'm going up to bed."

I was stunned and angry with myself as I watched her get up and hurry back to her room. I scowled down at the blanket she had left over my legs.

It was time to put this into high-gear.

--

The next day looked promising, as I had stayed up all night devising a new plan to get Katie to cuddle with me. It was simple enough, and I knew I could make it work. This time it involved getting her really scared.

I had Lee help me out on this one, as I didn't want to hear any more wisdom from the mouth of George. He knew too much about this already. Lee was happy to go along with anything I suggested without question. He was a good friend.

I had invited Katie on a late-night run down to the kitchens, and she had obliged. The two of us were strolling down the corridors in the middle of the pitch black castle when I turned down the corridor I knew Lee was waiting in.

I smiled to myself, knowing Katie couldn't see my glee in the darkness and waited for Lee to begin his act.

When he did I was actually quite impressed. The spooky noises and the use of his well-learned mist charm worked wonders and would have frightened a tougher person than Katie any night.

Unfortunately, just as soon as I felt Katie's arms tighten around me in fear, Lee had an abrupt allergic reaction to the fog spouting from his wand and gave himself away.

"Lee!" Katie had yelled, running into the shadows to smack him over the head. "What the bloody hell is your problem?"

I didn't admit that the whole thing had been my idea, and Lee didn't give me away—although that could have been due to the fact that he could no longer speak through his mouth through the coughing fit he was having. Oh well.

My plans continued on like that, each getting more ridiculous as they went on, until, finally, I opted to just be straight up about it.

I was fully dressed in my pyjamas for the night when I came down the boys' staircase into the common room. Katie had been there when I had left to change, and I figured she'd still be there when I came back down. Tonight was the night—I was just going to say it and have it over with.

I took a deep breath and scanned the room, ready to admit to my friend that I had a serious problem…only to find that…she wasn't there.

I was frantic for a moment, whipping my head around the common room in hopes that she would materialize. I couldn't let her disappear on me—not when I was ready to admit my addiction to her!

"Ang," I said, spotting her in a seat in the corner of the room.

She looked up at me expectantly from her Potions book.

"What is it?" she asked, looking impatient.

"Katie," I said, "Where is she?"

Angelina gave me a questioning look, obviously wondering why I looked so dishevelled and worried over the fact that Katie wasn't in the room. Clearly she wasn't aware of the fact that I hadn't slept in nearly a month's time.

"She's upstairs—she said she was going to bed early."

I scowled at this information.

"Thanks, Ang."

It only took me half-a-second to figure out what I wanted to do and then I was racing up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. I knew which one Katie slept in—I had played my share of pranks on her over the years—and I headed there quickly.

I didn't even bother being quiet as I burst in the room. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone else in there yet.

Katie was sleeping soundly, curled up in her four-poster bed. The curtains hadn't been drawn, so I had a perfect view of her peaceful features as she breathed smoothly and softly.

"Katie?" I whispered, half-hoping I would wake her from her plunder.

She didn't respond or move in the slightest.

I sighed. I didn't want to wake her—she looked so peaceful.

Again I acted without thinking and crawled into her bed with her. I had come this far and I was really, really exhausted…what was the harm, really?

I was as careful as possible as I climbed under her sheets with her—not wanting to disturb her in the slightest.

I drew the curtains around us just before my head hit the pillow and my arms snaked around her. And then…I was out.

--

I awoke the next morning to a horrific sound—Katie screaming.

"Fred! What are you doing in my bed?!" she yelled.

I opened my eyes groggily, not really comprehending why Katie was screaming at me this early in the morning. What was she talking about, her bed? I wasn't in her bed.

My eyes focussed and I realized she was right—I _was_ in her bed.

I sat up instantly and stared down at her. She didn't look angry, although she had been screaming. She looked—surprised.

"Fred?!" she said, staring at me with wide eyes.

"I uh…" I started dumbly. "I…couldn't sleep."

She stared at me, dumbfounded for a fraction of a second and then spoke.

"Get out."

--

The next few days were hell. I didn't get any rest at all and drifted off in nearly every one of my classes. In potions my head actually fell into my cauldron, resulting in some pretty nasty effects. It didn't matter. I was too exhausted to notice the pain of the event anyway.

I was lying in bed three nights after the best night's sleep I'd ever had thinking of the consequences of my actions. Katie hadn't spoken to me since I had surprised her by sneaking into her bed. I didn't really blame her, I mean, that was a pretty stupid thing for me to do. Anyone would have freaked…I just wish she hadn't of.

I had been wallowing in self pity for the majority of the day, wishing I could go back in time and erase my actions. Of course, it had been amazing. I hadn't slept like that in…ever. Lying there with Katie was the greatest. I had felt so at ease…so perfect.

I heard the door creak open. I wondered what time it was. I guess it must be late if George and Lee were coming up for bed. Lately they had been having some sort of prank war going on between the two of them. I was too exhausted to get involved.

I listened to the soft footsteps creeping across the room and almost felt soothed by them. I could feel my eyelids drooping and wondered if I was finally going to be able to get some sleep.

And then, someone ripped open the curtain around my four-poster.

My eyes shot open in surprise, but I was even more surprised by the sight that met me.

Katie Bell was standing over me, pyjama-clad with a pillow in her arms.

"Kate, what's going on?" I asked, sitting up on my elbows.

Without hesitation she jumped into bed with me, throwing herself under my covers. I didn't even have time to catch up to what was going on before she was cuddling her head into my chest and hugging me to her tightly.

"I can't sleep," she replied, and I grinned.

"Why's that?" I asked.

She shrugged, looking up at me with wide eyes. "I don't know."

I grinned down at her.

"I think I do."

Then, without hesitation, I pressed my lips to hers firmly, enveloping her in my arms just as she had done to me.

The two of us sighed in satisfaction and cuddled our way into one of many perfect nights.


End file.
